This invention relates generally to a trailer attachable to a vehicle and, more particularly, to a trailer configured to provide selectively an operation of tilting about its tire axis and an operation of dumping about a dump axis positioned rearwardly of the tire axis.
Trailers have been designed to provide the ability to tilt or to provide the ability to dump. A trailer that tilts generally has an articulated tongue that, when released to articulate about a generally transversely extending horizontal axis, allows the trailer to pivot about an axis corresponding to the center of the trailer tires, which if mounted coaxially on the trailer axis would correspond to the trailer axle, thus allowing the rearward end of the trailer to lower to the surface of the ground and permit convenient access to the trailer bed. Tilting is typically used to load other wheeled devices onto the trailer bed. Since the rearward end of the trailer bed is positionable adjacent the surface of the ground, a wheeled device such as a wheeled utility vehicle, a motorcycle, or a wheeled hand cart, can easily roll onto the trailer bed. Movement of the tilt function of such trailers is typically accomplished manually by releasing a locking device fixing the bed frame to the trailer tongue to permit the tongue to pivot relative to the bed frame and allow the bed frame to pivot about the tire center. Returning the trailer bed to a transport position with the bed frame fixed to the trailer tongue is typically a matter of balancing the load on the trailer bed relative to the tires to permit the bed frame to be pivoted back into position to be locked to the trailer tongue.
A dump trailer is also known in the art. Dump trailers are configured to pivot the trailer bed about a dump axis carried by the dump frame with the dump axis being located near or at the rearward end of the trailer bed. When the trailer bed is moved into a dump position, the rearward end of the trailer remains elevated above the ground while the forward end of the trailer bed is raised to urge any load on the trailer bed to slide off the bed onto the ground. The dump function is usually not accomplished manually. The movement of the bed frame carrying the trailer bed relative to the dump frame is typically accomplished through a dump actuator that is sufficiently powerful to raise the trailer bed and load thereon. This dump actuator is normally positioned underneath the trailer and is effective to cause a vertical movement of the trailer bed about the rearwardly positioned dump axis. To provide this known dump actuator configuration for a small towed trailer would require that the actuator be remotely powered and that the trailer structure provide sufficient depth to house and protect the dump actuator.
It would be desirable to provide a trailer capable of being towed behind a conventional vehicle, such as a truck or a car, that would be operable to provide both a tilt function and a dump function. It would also be desirable to provide a compact actuator mounting that would be effective to provide the dump function in a manner that would overcome the disadvantages of known dump actuators. It would also be desirable to provide a trailer and actuator configuration that would be conducive to being manually operated without requiring a remote power source.